Family | Life Elevated Mom

Yahoooooo: Why the Calgary Stampede is the Great Outdoor Show On Earth

July 16, 2012 by Amber

I’ve been to a lot of cool festivals and celebrations all around the world but nothing even comes close to what happens during the Calgary Stampede, “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.” For 10 days, the city pretty much shuts down to party, cowboy-style. Everything from free pancake breakfasts to hoe-downs to soirees to playing on the Stampede grounds.

People stagger into work late (if at all). Wanna take a 3-hour lunch? No problem. It’s Stampede week. Calgary turns into Jamaica and it’s “No problem, mon.”

And if you don’t own cowboy boots or a hat? ForgetAboutIt.

Which means since I don’t own either, I’m a reject in my own hometown.

This year was Stampede’s 100th anniversary so instead of just a nightly fireworks show above the fairgrounds, five international-scale firework displays occurred at the same time around the city, making it the largest and most sophisticated firework event ever produced in Canada.

We didn’t make it out to see them. In our defense, it doesn’t get dark until after 11 p.m. in the summer.

And yes, I am lame.

But we did make it to the Stampede grounds with Jamie this year. We have yet to buy tickets to the world-class rodeo (Chuckwagon races being the favorite) but the midway is always a great time. Prior to setting out, I posted this Facebook update:

YAHOO! Hitting up the Calgary Stampede today and, of course, Heart Attack Alley. What would you choose out of these gems? Bacon sundae funnel cakes, deep-fried Kool-Aid, Wagon Wheel or pickle chips. Then there is the 1,550-calorie doughnut cheeseburger with bacon, the macaroni and cheese pizza, deep-fried Coke, deep-fried Pop-tarts and a pulled pork parfait featuring mashed potatoes, gravy and pork presented to resemble an ice cream dessert. Salad, anyone? 🙂

Turns out we never made it to heart attack alley (the reason we’re still alive today) but we still had a swell time on all the rides.

They’re smiling only because they found joy in giving the gift of whiplash

Only problem is it was sweltering. Remember how I came to Canada to escape the heat? The first few days of our visit, it followed us here. As we were standing in line at Niagara Falls (the log ride) counting down the moments until we’d get splashed, I looked around and everyone in line was panting or making makeshift fans out of anything they could find.

I pointed it out to Jamie and proclaimed, “THESE ARE MY PEOPLE!”

Finally, someone who could relate to my heat-induced coma this summer.

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If you Google “Calgary Stampede Pancake Breakfast” a medley of websites and apps appear to help you navigate the onslaught of free pancakes breakfasts that occur daily during the 10-day celebration. Yep, that’s right: All. FREE.

The pancake breakfasts are put on with varying degrees of fanfare so we used FlapJackFinder.com to track down a fete where the Caravan Committee would be hosting, which is the biggest and baddest celebration of them all. We found them at our local mall–Southcentre–and had a blast listening to the live band and (of course) gorging on our breakfast of pancakes, real strawberry topping, sausage and cookie.


Bode with my niece’s darlings Arianna & Naomi

Nieces Emily & Ashton, Jamie, Hadley, Naomi, parents, Bode & Arianna

Balloon animals

Pony rides & a petting zoo

You will note that all the poor animals were crowded to the shade in the corner to escape the heat.

Even our animals are smart in the Great, White North.

Filed Under: Canada, Family, Family travel, Humor

Workin’ it!

June 14, 2012 by Amber

People have different ideas about what vacations are all about. For some, it should be the beach. For others, it’s the mountains. For when our family comes to visit, Jamie and I like to call them “working vacations.”

This is an altruistic way of saying THEY WORK FOR US.

For my poor Dad, he got dragged to the pumpkin patch and navigated the forklift with Jamie as they put up the hail netting (better him than me).

Then last fall, a section of our fence blew down. We didn’t bother to repair it until the prospect of having a backyard party for Haddie’s baptism finally motivated me to action. Jamie determined we would finally put in a gate to the patch (a la Julianne Moore’s request when we appeared on the Marriage Ref).

We had to build two sections of fence and install the gate. Sound easy? IT WASN’T. If you’ve ever dug fence posts three feet into the ground, you know what I’m talking about. If you’ve ever tried to dig fence posts through several feet of concrete, now we’re talking. When the fence blew over, it was because the wood had rotted out, leaving behind the concrete from the original fence posts.

So, for two days Dad and I dug (he, with a 30-pound crowbar as I would dutifully shovel out the hunks of cement.) And then rebuilt.

I’ll never look at a fence again without the most utmost respect for those who built it.

Fast-forward a couple of days to when Linda (Jamie’s mom) and I tackled Hadley’s bedroom. She had volunteered to help make it over in honor or Haddie’s 8th birthday. One of my young women from church, Jessie, volunteered to help paint and so we recruited her for the cause while Hadley was in adventure camp.

After three days and A LOT OF work, Hadley has her very own tween bedroom, complete with her own crafting area, which she absolutely loves.

And now I need a vacation from their vacation.

Filed Under: Family, Humor

Just breathe

June 4, 2012 by Amber

Posting will be sporadic the next few weeks as I try to come up for air. My parents leave Monday, Jamie’s parents are here this week and we’re making over Haddie’s room while the kids are in Avid4Adventure camp, a former roommate’s family is coming to visit and then we’ve leaving for Disneyland.

Hadley desperately loves her downtime and asked me last night, “When will I have time to just take it easy?”

“August,” I replied. I was only kinda kidding.

But having both sets of grandparents here has been so very worth it.

Filed Under: Family

Surrender

May 24, 2012 by Amber

We’re on the cusp of four weeks of non-stop insanity that includes Haddie’s birthday and baptism, juggling both sets of grandparents for a week each, redoing Haddie’s bedroom with my mother-in-law, adventure camp at Avid4 Adventure, Disneyland, two weeks of swim lessons, a trip to YMCA of the Rockies Estes Park and I have a conference in Keystone.

Oh, and then we’re heading to Canada in July.

Basically, if you need anything from me I’ll be available in August.

I’m excited my parents are arriving on Memorial Day for their visit. Though we have a spare bedroom that doubles as my den, it’s less-than optimal for my mom whose poor health requires comfortable living quarters and a nearby bathroom. We’re gladly giving them our Master Bedroom during the visit and Jamie and I will camp out in the basement.

At least that’s the story we’re telling them. One morning they may wake up with the kids and discover we’re playing hookey in Hawaii.

The room-darkening shades in our and Haddie’s bedroom have been busted for months. Though they still work, there are some glitches with getting them to stay up so Jamie chose THIS WEEK OF ALL WEEKS to get them fixed. We won’t get them back until after my parents arrive and so Jamie opted to put a towel in the windows to block out the sun in the morning.

Not just any towel but a nightmare-in-the-making.

“Are you kidding me? I can’t sleep with that thing looking at me.”
“It’s fine.Plus, that towel is big enough to fit the window perfectly.”
“What about my mother? She is going to be sleeping with it?!!”
“She’s the one who bought it for me (during our vacation to the Outer Banks).”

Welcome to Denver, Mommy Dearest.

Filed Under: Family, Humor, Jamie

How not to congratulate your sister-in-law on a long-overdue, well-deserved promotion at work

April 20, 2012 by Amber

Me: “So tell us about what you’ll be doing as a part of your new promotion!”

Lisa: “Basically, I’ll be taking over all our merchant tax reporting.”

Me: (Long pause) “That sounds like my worst nightmare.”

That’s my (warped) way of saying congrats, Lisa!

Filed Under: Family, Humor

Family + Skiing = Epic Utah Adventure

April 10, 2012 by Amber

Since we only had seven days to spend in Utah (four of which in Park City), this trip was only about two things: family and skiing.

First there were our darling twin nieces whom the kids adored and they loved right back.Hadley and Bode were bad influences and introduced them to the dirt pile behind Grandma’s house.

I later said to their mom Tammy (who is very lovely and proper) that she could send her kids to me for a week and I could teach them how to hike and get dirty and she could teach my kids how to be more cultured and refined.

I was only kinda joking.

We had a lovely visit with Jamie’s Grandpa Smith at his Uncle Dennis’ house.
Four generations together = happiness. I wish my kiddos were able to meet my wonderful grandparents.

We spent four nights in Park City at, hands down, the nicest condo I’ve EVER stayed in: Silver Star. We requested a three-bedroom so Jamie’s parents joined us on Thursday and Friday night.

There was a lot of chilling.
At least that’s what I think Jamie is doing.

Until Tammy, Uncle Jer and the twins came on Friday. In case you haven’t been around two-year-old twins, rest is pretty much non-existent but they sure are cute.

We had our own hot tub on our deck so that became a nightly ritual.

As did eating a lot of great food and watching General Conference together Saturday morning.

We loved being able to spend quality time with Jamie’s family. The twins, Ada and Berkley, have grown leaps and bounds since we saw them last summer. They are not identical but don’t tell that to Bode. When I asked him which was which, he exasperatingly said, “I don’t know. They’re twins.”

Like anyone should be able to tell them apart.

Filed Under: Bode, Family, Hadley, Humor, Utah

Leap Year ’12 Time Capsule (and Evidence I Suck at Math)

March 1, 2012 by Amber

I instituted a new Leap Year family tradition yesterday: we made a time capsule for us to open when the next Leap Year rolls around.

The only other time I’ve done a time capsule was when I was 16. I must have been inspired by a Young Women’s lesson at church to journal my life so I went home and made a very serious tape.

At least it seemed serious until I opened it 10 years later when I was 26 and was mortified at how ridiculous I sounded saying “rad” every other word.

It was, after all, the ’80s.

I’ve since gotten over that and really wish I could find that tape for my posterity to mock.

This time around, I had everyone in the family answer a questionnaire with the following:

Name and age

Favorite food

Friends

Favorite subject

Favorite things to do

What I’m looking forward to this year.

What do you want to be doing in 4 years?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I threw in a newspaper with today’s headlines, the entertainment section detailing current movies and some drawings and mementos from the kids. When we asked The Pumpkin Man how he wanted to commemorate February 2012, we put a pumpkin seed in the time capsule.

Here’s for hoping that hobby will be long forgotten by the time we open it.

Then, we sealed it up tight and put a bold, DO NOT OPEN UNTIL 2016. (Apologies for the sideways picture; can’t get it to rotate.)

OK, truth be told the reason the letters are in bold is because I originally wrote 2014.

Turns out 2012+4….well, here’s for hoping you know the answer.

Filed Under: Family, holidays, Humor, Jamie, pumpkins

Valentine’s Day Loves

February 22, 2012 by Amber

I’ll admit it: when I was single, I was one of those types who dubbed Valentine’s Day, “Single Awareness Day.”

Now, I realize I missed out on some great opportunities. It doesn’t have to be an over-the-top, romantic day but rather, just an expression of gratitude for those you love.

In addition to all the Pinterest-inspired activities I already wrote about here, one night we had a “heart attack love fest” for Family Home Evening. After sharing a scripture from John (a new commandment I give unto you…love one another), we each took several hearts and wrote what we loved about each other.

I knew it would be a great practice in recognizing each other’s strengths but I didn’t realize how much it would touch the kids. Though Haddie and Bode get along pretty well, they’re siblings so aren’t always BFFs (understatement). I will never forget the looks on their faces as they shared what they love about each other…one of those priceless parenting moments. We then taped the hearts all over the house for decoration.

This will be a favorite new Johnson family tradition for Valentine’s Day.

Because I’m all about forcing the love.

We invited Aunt Lisa and Uncle Chris over that night for a tasty fondue dinner.

And yes, that is a strobe light you see reflected in the left-hand corner.

Nothing says Happy Valentine’s Day like a cool disco.

The next day, Jamie and I celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary. I bought nine balloons and taped favorite memories from each year we’ve been married.

There were plenty.

But thank heavens for my blog’s archives to help me remember them all. 🙂

Filed Under: Bode, Family, Hadley, holidays

The Land of the Lost

February 4, 2012 by Amber

Alright, alright. As soon as people start querying if you’re still alive, you realize you need to post to your neglected blog.

It’s just I’m really, really busy and the 2.5 hours Bode is in kindergarten is not nearly enough time to tackle everything.

And so this here blog often falls victim.

In addition to working our butts off, here is a small sample of our playtime.

Ice skating Evergreen Lake in the mountains.
And lunching at Country Road Cafe.
These are only two of my favorite winter activities in Colorado. Ever.

We also went on a killer-awesome hike at Matthews Winters.

The awesome part was playing hide-and-go-seek.
The killer part was letting Adventure Girl drag us up a suicidal slopes.I find it rather ironic that Hadley freaks out at climbing walls but has no problem free climbing up rock croppings without the security of ropes.

She’s my daughter.

And then yesterday, it was snow day fun when school was canceled. While I shoveled, the kids played.
And played.

And played some more.
It’s our tradition to build a fort when it snows.
Check-out my little snowbunny a few years ago.
What a difference a few years makes!

Hadley was an overachiever and cranked out her first solo snowman.

And she stayed out much longer than Bode and me to build a snowfort with not one but three tunnel entrances.
Showoff.

Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Family, Family travel, Hadley, Humor

Walking in a (kind of) winter wonderland

January 5, 2012 by Amber

I love winter in Canada but the weather was unseasonably mild so we were unable to go skating on the lakes or cross-country ski on the golf course. Plus, the fire destroyed all of Dad’s recreational equipment.

Kinda an important piece of the puzzle.

And so we took the dogs for a walk every day. Sometimes it was just around the neighborhood, other times it was an adventure. Like the Southland Off-leash Park where we crossed the Bow River and trekked to Carburn Park. That walk’s excitement: we spotted coyotes just a stone’s throw away.
Though after scoping out the woosy meat selection, they deemed the dogs unworthy to attack.

Bode’s threatening howl helped, too.

Our secret entrance off Deerfoot Trail to this overlook of the Bow is always fun.

But hands down, our favorite trek this year was when Jamie joined us to explore Bow River Valley Ranch. The frozen falls on the river were sooooo cool.
Literally.
Especially compared to how it looked last summer.

Vs.

This time around, thrill-seeking Shanty wanted to drag Bode down to the Bow River but he resisted.
I couldn’t really blame the kid. Remember when I talked about those mild temperatures? That means the Bow River is the very definition of THIN ICE.

But we walked on it anyway.

Confirmation that Canucks really do know how to walk on water.

Filed Under: Canada, Family, outdoors